August 2022 - 36

vaughn's view
BY VAUGHN FLETCHER
DISTINCTIVE
1
&EXCEPTIONAL
PERENNIAL INTRODUCTIONS -
PART 4
At the Costa Trials, these perennials stood out among more than
160 varieties on display.
I
Vaughn Fletcher
is president of
Fletcher Consulting.
He has been in the
horticulture industry
since 1971, working in
many areas including
landscaping, garden
center and greenhouse
production, greenhouse
and nursery sales and
sales management.
He can be reached at
vfletcher9@gmail.com.
n my three previous Costa articles, I highlighted
dynamic annual introductions and top-performing
baskets recipes. My evaluation of the trial would
be incomplete without an overview of many new perennial
introductions for 2022-23.
I have used the word parade to describe the volume
of new perennial introductions and their durability,
environmental resilience, unique flower colors and
floriferousness in the trial during my late February and
late April visits. There were over 160 varieties represented
by 14 international and domestic flower and perennial
breeders. The liners were planted in the trial beds weeks
49 to 50, and my focus in the selection process was
heat, humidity, rain tolerance and, most importantly,
prolific flowering.
I submitted my first GPN perennial article in 2017,
and since that time the quantity and quality of new
introductions entered in regional trials have expanded
significantly. What has been impressive are the breeding
advancements and product development, resulting in
exciting new cultivars and improvement in morphological
characteristics such as color, size, form, and textures.
The benefits of these new varieties are greater disease
resistance, heat and drought tolerance, first-year flowering,
extended flowering, and multiple application potential.
The Costa perennial trial offers an early glimpse of the
development and maturation of these new perennials, which
will be manifested later in the summer and fall in multiple
regional trials.
36 AUGUST 2022 GPNMAG.COM
1. RUDBECKIA HIRTA 'DAKOTA FLAME'
GreenFuse Botanicals
The Dakota series was introduced in 2020 following
over 10 years of revolutionary breeding, development and
trialing. So what is revolutionary about this series? It is the
first true hirta with Zone 5 hardiness, first-year flowering
and day-length neutrality. No cold treatment is required
for spring flowering, so the series can be introduced to
the market for late spring and early summer sales. Red
Shield was introduced in 2020, followed by Gold, and the
new Flame for 2022-23, which was in the Costa trial and
flowering prolifically. This is a spectacular bicolor with a
dark eye and yellow ray petals that will augment the Dakota
series with three distinctive hirta varieties. I posted a photo
of this variety on my Facebook page and it captured much
attention. Flame will create outstanding visual impact at
retail and garner significant consumer interest.
2. AGASTACHE 'BETTERBUZZ AMARILLO'
Dümmen Orange
Dümmen Orange has entered the agastache arena with
three colorful varieties for 2022-23: 'Betterbuzz Amarillo',
'Betterbuzz Rosa' and 'Betterbuzz Amber'. This is a
competitive domain in the horticultural world with myriad
varieties differing in color, form and size. It is a treat to see
agastache blooming profusely in late April, as this is a midseason
flowering genus in the middle and upper regions
of the country. Why the breeding frenzy in agastache?
There are many benefits for the producer, landscaper and
http://www.GPNMAG.COM
August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2022
